bumfuckidaho | TEST DRIVE MEME, JANUARY 2017.

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TEST DRIVE MEME, JANUARY 2017.

TEST DRIVE MEME

There was an accident. That's basically the only thing you know for certain. Maybe a car wreck - metal and broken glass everywhere, and the sirens and the screaming. Or maybe there was an explosion. Maybe your bike hit a rock and you careened uncontrollably off a mountain path. You can't can't quite make out the details, not who was at fault or why. Try as you might, the chaos is all you can remember.

It's also the last thing you remember from before you wake up here.

When you open your eyes, the accident is gone. Instead, you're in a hospital bed – the nursing staff greets you with a cheerful smile.

Welcome to Wayward Pines, they tell you. You'll make a full recovery here.

option one WELCOME TO WAYWARD PINES

The hospital staff had seemed very friendly, but ultimately unhelpful when it came to answering your questions, insisting you shouldn't worry about such things, and that it was smarter to just rest until you'd fully recovered.

That was some time ago. You've since managed to leave the hospital – either via escape, or simply by waiting patiently and filling out paperwork until they finally agreed to release you. Now you've found yourself in the small but hearty town of Wayward Pines, Idaho. It's a charming little place, and the people there are all friendly enough, more than willing to greet you on the street, or give you directions if you need them.

Unless you're asking for directions out of town, of course.

Some will simply smile and give you a hearty pat on the shoulder and ask why you'd ever want to do a thing like that? Others will get quiet for a moment, and direct you to the nearest sign posted near the doorway of every building.

Don't bother taking the road, either. Whether you walk or get your hands on a vehicle, you won't get anywhere. The road simply takes you away from town for a short while before looping around and bringing you right back in.

There's no use questioning things, and it seems pretty useless to try to leave. So really, why not stay a while? Everyone's convinced that you'll find something to love in Wayward Pines.

(For the purposes of this test drive, you're welcome to handwave the existence of basically any local business or activity.)

option two INTO THE WOODS

You've just heard a scream from the woods.

I mean, it could've been an animal. There's bound to be some kind of wildlife amongst the trees, right? But then again, it did sound awfully... human.

Though all of the locals nearby conceal a flinch at the sound, they'll assure you it's nothing, if you ask them. Why, you're probably just hearing things! (But with an anxious undertone of stop asking questions.) If you're curious, though, and brave enough to go see, they won't make any move to stop you from going into the wooded area surrounding the town.

The trees are tall, and their branches are thick enough to block out a significant amount of sunlight from breaking through the canopy, leaving the forest floor a little dimmer and cooler than the streets of town.

Whatever the source of the scream was, you won't be able to find it out here. An experienced hunter might notice some signs of a struggle, and a few faint boot prints, but they don't really seem to lead anywhere in particular.

What you will find, if you walk far enough, is a fence. A big one - at least 30 feet tall, made of metal and concrete. It goes on quite a ways in either direction as well; follow the wall far enough, and you'll see that it connects with the steep, sheer cliffs that surround the rest of Wayward Pines, effectively boxing the town in.

In actuality, you'll probably feel it before you see it. A full 500 yards from the wall, when it's hardly a shadowy smudge through the trees, you start to feel a little bit tired, a little bit weak. Trouble is, the closer you get, the weaker you feel - like the wall itself is sapping the strength out of you, and the closer you get, the worse it feels. Any powers you may have had grow weaker in kind as you make your way to the fence, but even ordinary humans will find their strength sapping away. By the time you're close enough to read the signs and to feel the crackle of electricity radiating from the thick wires criss-crossing the wall's metal surface, you're too weak to stand.

Do you crawl closer still and risk electrocution, or do you crawl away and assess the situation once you're far enough from the fence to be able to stand?

option three YOU DONE HECKED UP

It's hard to say what it was, exactly, that crossed the line.

It might have been all those questions you've been asking about the town and the people within it. It might be all that talking you've been doing, about your life outside and the family you miss. It might have been the number of times you've not-so-subtly referenced the fence in the woods.

In any case, the Sheriff has taken notice of it, and you've been charged with disturbing the peace. It's his hope that a few days in a jail cell will teach you that such things aren't appreciated in Wayward Pines.

Until such a time that he deems to let you out, you and your cellmate have some time to kill.

option four ON THE NETWORK

Though it's not as high-tech as you might be used to (or hell, maybe you're ren faire and it's centuries beyond anything you've seen), but Wayward Pines does in fact have a network to accommodate its citizens.

Go ahead, post a network post! Just note that the network, at current, is audio-only and can only be accessed from the telephones in each character's home.

( a few notes )

Welcome to our first test drive here in The Pines! Just a couple of things to note:

( 1 ) Upon arrival in Wayward Pines, characters find themselves struggling to remember entirely who they were or where they came from. Memories return progressively over the next two weeks. You're welcome to play with this mechanic in any of these prompts, but it's definitely not mandatory! For more details on this temporary memory loss, see our FAQ.

( 2 ) ~~The above link to the FAQ won't actually load for the first few hours this is up - we're sorry about that, we just have to port the FAQ into HTML.~~ The FAQ is now live! We'll also be tossing up a few more vital pages over the next 24 hours, then opening reserves at 12:01 AM EST on the 17th. Keep an eye on thepines for updates.

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[She looks a little distraught still but nods. Her back was hurting. It was difficult to stand and now that he's pointed it out, she's still wearing her hospital gown]

Yes... I, I'm sorry. The nurse wouldn't tell me...

Oh, now, that stuff's probably written down on the hospital papers somewhere! [ Flowers gently slides her arm over his own shoulders, chatting cheerfully as he does. ] We'll get you more swaddled up than a baked burrito and I'll help you get back there to fetch them, how about?

[ And then he leans closer briefly, under the guise of shifting his grip and his voice drops low. ]

And if I were you, I'd be awful careful about asking anyone anything like that again.

[ He winks and then starts guiding her towards the nearby thrift store. ]

[She lets him guide her to the store, sensing that some discretion is needed. So regardless of her worry for her family, she presses her lips together and nods.

She has to rest her weight against him as some pain shoots up the small of her bag. Nothing debilitating but annoying enough that she'll be walking with a slight limp.]

I'm sorry. The nurses said all this is temporary but I guess I grew too anxious.

That's perfectly normal I'd say, but you've got to trust those nice nurses on this one. [ Flowers gives her forearm a comforting pat. ] Rest up and take it nice and easy for a while and I'm sure you'll be up and at them in no time flat!

[ The thrift store's door chimes as he nudges it open with a foot. The girl at the counter looks up, her expression changing from Customer Service Smile to worry at the sight of the woman in a hospital gown. ]

Would you kindly nab us a jacket? [ he asks. The girl nods and quickly takes off, disappearing into the depths of the store. ]

[she smiles] Thank you. [she tries to stand up straight at the sight of the other woman, feeling self-conscious suddenly, only relaxing again when she turns to help retrieve a jacket. She looks around and gently nudges Flower in the direction of the counter where she can lean against and use to help straighten up later]

What's your name?

Butch Flowers, ma'am.

[ For some reason, he feels like he needed to tack Captain onto the front of that, but that's not right, is it? That'd be awful silly, especially considering the fact that they were nowhere near being in a military setting. ]

I'd ask you yours, but it didn't seem like you knew. [ Once at the counter, he lets her lean up against it before going around the desk to fetch the stool. ] I'm going to go grab you a pair of boots. You know what size you are there?

What a unique name. [Rough and gentle all at once.] My daughter. We are naming her after a flower too - Daisy. [she says, smiling warmly at the memory.]

[But yes. Clothes. Shoes. Does she even know her size? A thoughtful furrow of her eyebrows later, she decides to choose the number that feels right]

Let's try nine.

Daisy! Why that's just cute a bunny's belly button, what a wonderful name.

[ She will notice, however, the way his eyes slide up and to the right and if she follows the direction of them, she will find a camera sitting neatly above the cleric's desk- and a sign under it.

Careful, lady. They gotta be a bit careful.

As she reads up on the sign, Flowers slips away to go nab her a few choice footwear. After a few minutes, he brings back a particularly gaudy looking pair of pink cowboy booties, a neon yellow pair of trainers and what looks like blue Crocs. ]

Wasn't too sure what you'd like so I just got the most cheerful looking suckers I could find! Fancy any of these? [ He's totally in love with those booties, himself, but he's got smaller feet. ] If not, I can grab you something more along your tastes from the racks, yeah?

[ The clerk comes back with a much more tasteful looking, long charcoal trenchcoat. ]

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